Busy Life. Lazy Heart.

Life gets busy. 

When my days feel extra full, I can't shut my brain off. It's hard for me to sleep. I can't allow myself to breathe until everything is done. My stomach is in constant knots of anxiety. I'll rest soon....Once all my ducks are in a row. Once all the boxes are checked. As soon as I've done enough to give my back a pat. 

The last thing my busy days feel like is lazy. There's no time for lazy! 

But is it possible to live a busy life with a lazy heart? 

What is Rest?

Jesus says: 

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30

To me, rest means time to be lazy.  

Rest is calm. 

Rest is a hot bath with extra bubbles. 

Rest is a tub of Blue Bell. 

Rest is a a day of Netflix. 

Rest is relaxing on a beach. 

Rest is sleep.

Based on Matthew 11, I think Jesus and I have a different idea of what rest means. Because how can Jesus offer me some down time when the world keeps piling expectations on my back? 

Rest in the Busy  

Jesus invites us into a rest that doesn't require my circumstances to participate. When we take on Jesus' yoke, we work with him and walk in his ways. 

While life doesn't suddenly pause so we can take a nap, Jesus' yoke is way easier for us to carry than the worlds' yoke. The world is a harsh master. Jesus is full of grace and steadfast love and protection. 

Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10

Rest is ceasing all efforts of our own. 

Rest is trusting that our all-powerful God is in control of our lives.

Rest is knowing God.   

Rest from feeling guilty for failing. 

Rest from trying to impress people. 

Rest from finding success in my performance. 

Rest from trying to do everyone on my own. 

Rest from manipulating my world to go according to my plan. 

Rest from feeling "less than" if I don't check off all the boxes. 

And we have access to this kind of rest on the beach or in an office, at a spa or in the laundry room. 

We can find rest in the midst of our crazy agenda when we abide in Christ and find fulfillment in God's presence. 

Busy Can Sometimes Mean Lazy

So, if rest doesn't mean lazy and busy doesn't mean no rest....the opposite of true rest in Christ is not work or business but...laziness. 

In our business, we can choose to rest in Christ, filling up on His promises. Or, we can choose laziness, letting the yoke of this world drag us along leaving us tired and burnt-out. 

Laziness is striving after the wrong things. 

Laziness is using the world (Netflix, productivity, to-do lists, people-pleasing, and even busyness) as a distraction or an escape. 

Laziness is trusting that our way is better than Jesus' way. 

Laziness is taking on the yoke of this world. 

Laziness results in burn-out, disappointment, fear of people, stress, and anxiety. 

True life is found only in Christ. When we rest in him, work under his yoke, and learn from him, the weight of the world's expectations are lifted off our shoulders.  

A Supernatural Community

What qualifies a group of people to identify as a "community"? Is it their common values? Their common location? The fact that they all care about each other? They all enjoy doing the same thing together? 

I would guess those are all attributes of community groups we see in the world today. What makes the body of Christ, a community of Believers different? 

A Christian community might function in a similar way as other social groups. They both share meals, hobbies, values, interests, and space. However, the main difference between a secular community and a Christ-following community is their common bond and their shared goal. 

A Common Bond

You have more in common with a Christian woman living in China than you do with your unbelieving next door neighbor. Christian community shares the most important reality ever: Christ in us. 

The body of Christ is far more than just a social club, something entertaining to add to our calendar. It’s not a once a week event but a lifestyle, a never-changing reality. Believers are united together in Christ at all times and in all places. 

I often approach God's family with my own selfish expectations: I expect them to make me feel better, to amp up my social life, or to give me a fun experience I can record on social media. I treat my spiritual brothers and sisters as a social group, ignoring the divine power that bonds us together. 

Worldly community is based on emotions, the things on earth; Godly community is based on Truth, the spiritual things above. 

May we approach the Church not as a means to an end but as a supernatural reality founded on the truth that we are all saved by faith through grace, heirs of Christ's inheritance, and temples of the Holy Spirit. 

This truth transforms what we do, what we talk about, and how we treat each other. Our faith moves us from a surface level friendship to a Christ-centered, Gospel-saturated sisterhood. 

Christ in us transforms the goal of our relationships with Believers.  

A Shared Goal 

Believers primarily meet to experience more of Christ. It's not about the people, the setting, or the activity; it's about our Maker. 

The goal of our relationship with Christian community members is not to manipulate them into giving us what we desire. God's family is not our own; they are God's, bought with the blood of Christ. 

Instead, our goal in every interaction with our family is to love them by pushing them closer to the one who loves them best, our Father. The Church body has one shared goal, to glorify God. The end is Christ, not ourselves. 

Christian communities thrive when they depend on Christ for happiness, not each other. 

"[I, Paul] urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." Ephesians 4:1-5

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When you became a child of the King, you were re-born into an entirely new (and bigger) family. Fellow Believers, near and far, are God's gift to you. 

A true community sees each member as Christ sees them, forgiven and loved by grace alone. 

Let us thankfully receive the Christian community that surrounds us in every season. It is one of the many free spiritual blessings we received when God predestined us for adoption to himself as children through Jesus' death and resurrection. May we humbly steward his gift well. 

The Girl ☎︎ Next Door